The Hobbits of Flores

In 2004, the fossil remains of small humans were found in the Liang Bua cave on the island of Flores, located in Indonesia. Since that time, the controversy surrounding these fossil remains, nicknamed “hobbits” because of their small size, has increased. Evolutionists call the fossil remains H. floresiensis, labeling it a “human contemporary.” This means that they don’t believe the fossils belonged to something that was fully human. They suppose that H. floresiensis “descended from a prehistoric species of human—perhaps H. erectus—which reached island South-East Asia more than a million years ago.”¹

Creation scientists look at the same fossil remains (in light of the biblical account of creation and observational science) and reach an entirely different conclusion. First of all, we know that there were no “human contemporaries.” Genesis clearly states that man was created by God on Day Six of the Creation Week. God made man in His image. Man did not evolve from apes over millions of years of death and suffering. In fact, Genesis 1 tells us that there was no death and suffering when Adam was created, because God’s creation was very good. This means that there was no fossil record at this point. Death was a result of Adam and Eve’s sin in the Garden of Eden. Most of the fossil record was created during the worldwide Flood.

So, were these “hobbits” human? We can find clues using observational science. Peter Galling writes, “When it comes to the Flores hobbits, the Liang Bua cave also housed stone tools and signs of hunting and the controlled use of fire. These are all clear signs of human intelligence—patterns of behavior that distinguish humans from apes.”² Therefore, the Flores hobbits were fully human. There is speculation as to whether or not these humans were affected by disease.

¹ BBC Earth News, Giant fossil bird found on 'hobbit' island of Flores, Emma Brennand, December 7, 2010, http://news.bbc.co.uk/earth/hi/earth_news/newsid_9261000/9261713.stm.
²The Return of the Hobbits, Peter Galling, March 6, 2008, http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/2008/03/06/return-hobbits.
³ Answers in Genesis, News to Note, December 11, 2010, http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/2010/12/11/news-to-note-12112010.